Anderson Family of Bamber / Cedar Crest

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James Anderson was born somewhere in New Jersey on 17 Jan 1805.[i]

I suspect he was living in the Bamber/Dover Forge section of Dover Township as early as 1826, when an entry appeared in a Dover Forge account book on 20 May 1826 indicating that James Anderson had purchased 12 buttons, some tobacco and fish.[ii]

            There was also a  man named Benjamin Anderson working at the Dover Forge in June of 1826; on June 30th, he was paid for drawing coal for the Forge for 27 ½ days.[iii] How, if at all, he is related to James is unknown.

            Sometime prior to 1850, James married Penelope Camburn (1811-1904), six years his junior. I believe she is the daughter of Daniel Camburn (1782-1872) and Acsah King (1785-1848).

            In 1850, James and his wife, Penelope, were residing in what was then Union Township, in Ocean County---Union is now known as Barnegat, but in 1850, there was no Lacey Township, and part of Union would later be used to form Lacey in 1870.  So it’s possible that the family didn’t actually move to Bamber, just that the borders changed around them.  We don’t have enough information to be certain. In 1850, James was a farmer, and had six children at home: George, Daniel, Samuel. Evaline, Eliza, and James. There was also 72 year old Elisabeth Anderson, likely to be James’ mother.[iv]

            In 1860, James Anderson was residing in Forked River (modern-day Lacey Township).[v] James was 54, and his wife, Penelope, 49.  He worked as a farmer, and the children, George (22), Daniel (20), Samuel (18), Evaline(16), Eliza(14) and Elta(9) were all living with them on the family farm.

            The family was still in Union Township, Ocean County in 1870 (Lacey township would be formed from part of Union Township in 1871).[vi] James was 65 years old, and working as a farmer.  Penelope, his wife, was 59.  Children George (32), Samuel (28), Emaline (25), Eliza (23), and Elta A. (17) lived in the home as well.

            The Anderson family was residing at Bamber by 1880.[vii] James Anderson was at that time 74 years old and working as a farmer.  He lived with his wife, 62 year old Penelope Anderson. They had the following children;

  • George Anderson, age 40, working on the farm (27 Mar 1838-3 Apr 1899, buried at Good Luck)[viii]
  • Sam Anderson, 38, working on the farm
  • Evaline Anderson, 35

 There was also a servant in their home, a 10-year-old girl named Sarah Gifford.

 

James passed away on 30 Oct 1887, according to his headstone in the Good Luck Cemetery in Forked River. According to information submitted to findagrave.com (and therefore not verified), Penelope was the daughter of Daniel Camburn (1782-1872) and Acsah King (1785-1848).  She was the sister of Joseph, Garrison, Nathaniel, Daniel, Nancy Ann, Anthony King, Clayton, and Jonathan Camburn, according to the user submitted data.

20 years later, in 1900, Penelope was a widow and living in the home of her son-in-law, William Ward in Lacey Township (but probably not Bamber).[ix] William was born in May of 1845, and married Lida R. Anderson about 1875.  William was born in New Jersey, although his father was from New York, and in 1900 he was working as a civil engineer.

            His wife, Lida (Anderson) Ward, was born in October 1845.  Lida and William had four children, though only 3 survived by 1900.  All three lived at home in 1900: Emma M. Ward, b. Feb 1887, and Abbie A. Ward, b. Oct 1893, and Evangeline Griffin, b. Sep 1877—Evangeline was married, and her husband, George W. Griffin (b. Dec 1877) lived in the Ward home as well. It’s likely that Lida Anderson is Evaline Anderson, as the censuses give no child by the name ‘Lida’, but Evaline would be the right age to have been born in 1845.

            According to the 1900 census, Penelope Anderson was born in February of 1811. She had given birth seven times, and only had three living children.   Her headstone gives her birth date as 14 Mar 1811, which contradicts the birth date given in her obituary.

            James died 30 Oct 1887 and was buried at Good Luck Cemetery.[x]

            In the 7 Feb 1901 issue of the New Jersey Courier, there is an article listing many of the older residents of the county. Penelope Anderson, aged 88, is listed. The article appears under the ‘Forked River’ heading, though it’s not clear if this means Penelope was actually residing in Forked River.

            Penelope died 15 Mar 1904 and was buried in the Good Luck cemetery in Lacey.[xi]

            From her obituary:
“Mrs. Penelope Anderson died at Lanoka on March 15, at the advanced age of 93 years. She was one of the oldest residents of the county, and came of a long lived family, being a sister to Joseph Camburn, who died at Waretown a year ago also aged 93 years.  She was born February 27, 1811.  Her health was good and her disposition the most sunny and cheerful up to the time of death. She was the widow of the late James Anderson, who died about sixteen years ago.”

            There was another Anderson family at Bamber as well—in 1910, Lottie Anderson lived with her brother, Ephraim Archer, on Lacey Road in Bamber, but it’s not clear if the family is related to this one.  She was only 28 at the time, and already a widow. There is a SSDI record for a Charlotte Anderson, born 10 Mar 1883, who died in Bergen, NJ in 1967 at the age of 84; while there’s a possibility this is the same person, there’s not enough information yet to know for certain.

            Ralph Cummings (see below) married Phoebe Lucille Anderson, daughter of a William Anderson and Linda Chamberlain, and while Phoebe and Ralph lived at Bamber at one point, it’s not known if William Anderson ever did.


[i] James Anderson headstone, Good Luck Cemetery, Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

[ii] Dover Forge Account Book, 1826-1828, Dover Forge Collection, Monmouth County Historical Society, Freehold, New Jersey

[iii] Dover Forge Account Book, 1826-1828, Dover Forge Collection, Monmouth County Historical Society, Freehold, New Jersey

[iv] 1850 Federal Census, Union Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

[v] 1860 Federal Census, Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

[vi] 1870 Federal Census, Union Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

[vii] 1880 Federal Census, Lacey Township, Ocean County , New Jersey

[viii] George Anderson headstone, Good Luck Cemetery, Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

[ix] 1900 Federal Census, Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

[x] James Anderson headstone, Good Luck Cemetery, Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey.

[xi] Penelope Anderson headstone, Good Luck Cemetery, Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey

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